


Blooming

by anderperrysupremacist



Category: Dead Poets Society (1989)
Genre: M/M, anderperryapril
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2020-01-07 07:14:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18405752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anderperrysupremacist/pseuds/anderperrysupremacist
Summary: Neil and Todd spend the day at the lake, with Neil taking photographs and Todd writing. Later, they show their work to their friends and are brought closer together.





	Blooming

**Author's Note:**

> Anderperry April — Day 8: Writer/Photographer AU

Neil and Todd were on their way to the lake for the day; it was sort of a date. The two of them had been wanting to go out to the lake; Neil wanted to take pictures, and Todd wanted to write.  
"How far away are we?" Todd asked.  
"Just a few minutes."  
They had decided to walk; it wasn't very far, and it was a beautiful day out. It was nearly springtime, and the trees and flowers were beginning to bloom. It was getting warmer out, too, making it the perfect weather for swimming. They continued on for a few minutes before coming across a clearing; within that clearing was the lake. Neil took off towards the lake, leaving Todd trailing behind.  
"You'd better not let your camera get wet!" Todd called after him.  
"I won't!" Neil yelled back to him.  
Neil stopped at the edge of the lake. He took his backpack—which contained his camera, among other things—off and opened it, pulling out the camera. It was a polaroid camera, and ever since he'd gotten it, he'd become obsessed with taking pictures. He'd take pictures of just about anything, ranging from nature to random, obscure objects or things he found that he thought were interesting. Todd was his favorite subject to photograph, especially when it came to candid pictures.  
Neil snapped a picture of the lake, then the trees surrounding it. He was so focused on taking pictures that he jumped when he heard Todd say, "You're in love with that thing, huh?"  
Neil breathed a sigh of relief, then laughed.  
"Sorry, you scared me."  
"My bad."  
"It's all good."  
Todd bent down and picked up the backpack, pulling out a notebook. Neil was watching him.  
"You're not going to spend the whole time writing, are you?"  
Todd looked up, notebook in hand, and sighed.  
"No."  
"Good," Neil replied, continuing to take pictures with his camera.  
Todd sat cross-legged on the ground with the notebook in his lap. He pulled a pencil out from the spine of the notebook and started writing. He had been working on writing a thriller about a group of friends in the who were being stalked by a serial killer. He'd also started writing poems and keeping a journal of everything going on his life and what he did that day. He wasn't too far into his story, but everybody loved it.  
The same could be said for Neil's  
photography; he was new at it, but his photography skills were admired by everyone. Neil put his camera back in the backpack. He took his shirt off and ran into the lake.  
"The water feels amazing!" he yelled.  
"If you get my notebook wet, I'm gonna strangle you."  
"Yeah, if you can reach!"  
"Oh, shut up! I'm not that little! I'm only, like, two inches shorter than you!"  
"Yeah, okay, good point," Neil replied, lowering himself a little more into the water. He was watching Todd continue to write. This went on for a few minutes, then Todd put his notebook away. He went back to sitting at the edge of the lake, observing the scenery. Neil swam up to Todd and grabbed his hand, trying to pull him in.  
"I'm pulling you in the water if you don't get in yourself."  
Todd laughed. He pulled his shirt up over his head and tossed it to the side, then stood up and waded into the lake.  
"Damn, I wanted to pull you in."  
"Oh, I see how it is," Todd teased.  
"Now that you're in the water with me, I get to do this," Neil said as he splashed water on Todd.  
"Hey!" Todd exclaimed, splashing Neil back.  
They splashed each other back and forth for a while. They started off with small waves of water and ending up creating huge ripples in the water with how roughly they were moving their hands through the water to splash one another. They couldn't stop giggling; they felt like children again. 

**

When Neil and Todd got back to Welton, they were almost instantly bombarded by their friends asking if they could see their work.  
"I'll show you guys my photos at the meeting tonight," Neil said.  
"Todd," Charlie said, "can we see your stuff tonight, too?"  
Todd paused. He loved writing, but still, the idea of sharing anything he wrote made him anxious.  
"Uh—uh, sure."

**

The boys were gathered at the cave for their weekly meeting. Neil had just read the opening message. The boys were talking amongst themselves, making jokes and laughing. This went on for a while until Charlie spoke up.  
"So, Neil, can we see your photos now or what?"  
"Sure," Neil replied, pulling the photographs he had taken at the lake earlier that day out of his pocket.  
Everyone crowded around Neil and marveled over the pictures—Todd, too; he hadn't seen them yet.  
"I wish I could take pictures like that,"  
Meeks sighed.  
"You're not into taking pictures," Pitts remarked.  
"Okay, you have a point."  
"Nice work, Neil," Knox said.  
"Thanks," Neil replied. He was smiling; he loved when his work was well-received.  
"What's so interesting about a lake?" Charlie said bluntly.  
Knox punched him in the shoulder.  
"Ow!"  
"Be nice, you two," Meeks said sternly.  
"Yes, Dad," Charlie remarked, rolling his eyes.  
"Okay, okay, enough," Pitts said quickly, "Todd, can we see what you wrote now?"  
Todd froze for a minute, then took a deep breath.  
"Sure," he replied, picking up his notebook that he had next to him. He flipped to the section where his story was and scooted in closer to the others so they could see, holding the notebook up.  
"I—I'm still not too far, but—it's, uh, coming along okay, I guess."  
"Do you have any idea who the person the characters are running from is going to be?" Knox asked.  
"N—no, but I'll get there."  
"It's nice so far. Your descriptions are really good, Todd. Good work," Meeks chimed in. He had an eye for vocabulary and anything related to it.  
"Thanks," Todd said softly. He felt embarrassed that anyone at all liked his work; he always ended up hating it and giving up.  
The boys carried on in the cave for the rest of the night. Neil and Todd ended up sitting closer to each other than they usually did. Todd was embarrassed, but nobody else seemed to notice or care. Neil's hand inched closer to Todd's at one point, and eventually they were holding hands. Still, nobody noticed. They wanted to keep it that way; at least for now.


End file.
